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Sonic Boom Six

Lena Peter goes to SB6 at The Attic and gives a couple of tips for the weekend

Published on March 28th 2008.

Going to Sonic Boom Six’s gig at the Attic came out of last week’s trip to Basscamp, where I spied a flyer for SB6 announcing that they were playing on the Monday. The band are rarely in the UK, let alone Manchester these days, as they spend a lot of their time touring so although it was a school night I made the effort to haul myself back into town for their on-stage time of 11.30pm.

The reason for this is that Sonic Boom Six stand out in a world populated by indie-pop and mediocre guitar bands. SB6’s sound mixes a glut of underground styles into a high-energy sound that has made them the darlings of the Japanese, US and European teen scenes. Heavily influenced by ska, reggae and jungle, the traditional band line-up manages to create a sound that transfers smoothly to the dancefloor.

Across the top of dubby basslines, the band’s female singer Laila K shouts and squeaks quick-fire raps about socio-political subjects, without ever losing a sense of humour. As a result of extensive touring, the band have become incredibly tight and can easily entertain a crowd at full strength for a set. Laila is a fantastic front to the band, never running out of energy and totally captivating the crowd, while bouncing around, pink hair flying.

The crowd looked like long-term fans and shouted along to choruses while pressed up as close to the stage as possible and dancing like demented things. SB6’s music has a definite effect on your feet and within minutes you find yourself joining in and hoping that the music doesn’t stop for a long, long time.

The only slight issue I had was a new tendency for the band to include vaguely nu-metal elements to their songs, which takes away some of the intrinsic rhythm and skank of their original sound.

In a world which is split between bands and dance music (apart from Nu-rave, which is still somehow a bit superficial), SB6 provide a great crossover.

It’s rare to see people dancing to bands at the moment, so when 4 people in baseball boots and long shorts can make a room full of people jig their arses off on a Monday night you know its got to be a good thing. I had invited a mate along who is someone that I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t normally find at a gig like SB6. A bit worried that she might have hated it, I texted her the morning after, only to find that she’d gone home and immediately added herself as a friend of the band. Nuff said.

SB6 are back on tour to the US over the coming month but you can catch them again at Club Academy on Wednesday 21 May for £9.

Gigs to catch this weekend

The AftershowThe Aftershow, a night formerly held at Sankeys on a Thursday, has now moved to Moho Live on Tib Street. Friday’s show (28 March) sees the Virgin Mary’s long-haired rock, plus the Manyanas, New Adventures and The Underclass. Entry is a fiver and the night goes on until 3am.

Cyril SnearIf you fancy a quieter gig, head down to The Roadhouse on Saturday (29 March) to see Cyril Snear, a local band whose music is definitely eclectic. A bit prog-rock, a bit indie-alternative, sometimes a bit like standing in the crowd looking at your shoes. Supported by acoustic folk from regular face Lou Whatling.

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